How To Gain Effective Communication For Non-Profit Organizations
| April 5, 2018 | communication, donations, effective communication, nonprofit, volunteer | No Comments
ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
If you’re a leader with a big voice like I am, getting everyone’s attention is easy; it’s keeping their attention and communicating effectively that can become the problem. Whether you have a loud or soft, sweet voice, the way you communicate as a leader for your organization can affect the outcome of your nonprofit.
Our aim at ExpressTaxExempt is to help you and your nonprofit organization grow so that you can continue making a positive difference in your community. Here are a few keys to effective communication that will benefit your non-profit organization:
How To Gain Effective Communication For Non-Profit Organizations
1) Inform, Explain, Clarify
As a leader have you ever felt misunderstood by those, you work with or lead? When you make an announcement, everyone seems to be on the same page but two days later (or even sooner) you are confronted with 5000 questions?
If this scenario often occurs you may need to rethink your communication skills and adjust them to best suit those that you lead. What makes sense to you might not “click” with them. This three-step process has helped me tremendously throughout the years;
- Inform – Always inform your team promptly. Communicating information at the last minute opens the door for confusion and a lack of understanding among individual members of your team.
- Explain – Depending on your leadership style you may or may not be the type to share all of the details; which is fine. Whatever information you do decide to share, be prepared to explain it in detail to your team. The more they know in [certain] situations, the better.
- Clarify – It never hurts to clarify information that you have shared with your team. At the end of the day, you are human just like they are. Mistakes happen! If you misspeak or failed to make something clear, simply clarify it and move forward.
2) Servant Leadership: Become More “Hands-ON”
To lead others well, you must serve first.
Of course, we are not referring to serving your team a meal (although treating your volunteers to a meal is always a kind gesture). Servant leadership is a timeless concept that helps with effective communication skills, by focusing on the growth and well-being of individuals and communities to which they belong.
Take time to labor among those you volunteer with. Talk to your team. Help volunteers with tasks you have assigned. Go where the work is happening. Being present and active will show your team, as well as potential donors, the amount of passion you have towards your organization’s mission and want to help others.
3) Maintain Open Dialogue With Your Team
Keeping an open line of communication is vital to building and sustaining an active relationship with your team, volunteers, donors, and community. Exceptional communication is achieved in various ways and can be accomplished easily. Here are some options that you can implement with your non-profit organization:
- Team – Schedule weekly or bi-weekly meetings with your team and volunteers to discuss any upcoming projects or initiatives of your nonprofit organization and brainstorm new ideas. Meetings are also a great time to spark conversations and have dialogue that will strengthen your team. Allow your team and volunteers to share their opinion and feedback; take what is shared and use it to better the organization.
- Donors – Donors want to know where their donations are used. Based on the relationship with your donors you should determine how often you correspond with them to provide updates regarding your organization. This correspondence can be as simple as an email or creative as a monthly or quarterly newsletter. Staying in touch with your donors will considerably affect your nonprofit organization and the donations it receives.
- Community – Just like donors, the community wants to know about your efforts as well. Word of mouth is still one of the best marketing tools! Residents of your community will inform others about your nonprofit organization, volunteer to help, and lead individuals that could need your services in your direction so they can receive the help that they need.
TIP: The more you inform your audience, the more support you will receive!
Use these three keys to achieve and maintain effective communication skills within your nonprofit organization. If you have any tips to share, ExpressTaxExempt would love to include them. Comment below and let’s all grow together!
Don’t forget to communicate with your team the importance of filing a 990 Form annually to keep the organization’s tax-exempt status intact. ExpressTaxExempt will help you remain tax exempt and free from IRS penalties.
